Onward Homes apologises to mum after ceiling caves in

When Jodie Gilligan rose on Saturday, June 1, she noticed water coming from the ceiling of the hallway at her Horace Street, Halliwell home. 

She complained to Onward Homes, the organisation which she rents the house from - they said they would send someone out to look at the issue. 

But she said no one came on the day.

Over the course of Saturday, the 30-year-old mother said she called the housing association six times as the ceiling deteriorated. 

On the final call, at around 6.30pm,  Jodie said she was told the initial log was taken down incorrectly and a new one would have to be recorded. 

Jodie Gilligan (Image: Public)

The following day she made further calls - however, at 12.30pm, the ceiling caved in, close to where her two-year-old daughter was playing. 

Jodie said: "Every person was telling me to wait, but I have three young children that I'm trying to keep away from it, my seven-year-old daughter has epilepsy, and then I have four and two-year-olds. 

"When someone chased it at 6.30pm, they said the person who did it initially had sent it to the wrong team and it had to be re-reported. 

"It wasn't until 3pm on Sunday that they came to stop the leak - it took over 30 hours, when I have children it should be an emergency. 

"If they had come when they were supposed to then the ceiling wouldn't have come down." 

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The hole following the incident (Image: Public)

She added: "My two-year-old was so close, you can see her little toy pram she had been playing with near the doorway. 

"The kids are okay but they were upset, they were crying their eyes out.

"I was stood by the back door and all of a sudden there was this almighty crash as the ceiling came down." 

Jodie has been told that Onward Homes will send a plasterer around on June 19, but she believes it is a bigger job than a plasterer can do. 

She said: "It is not going to be a case of plastering over it, they need to fix the wooden joists as they are rotten. 

Debris on the floor after the ceiling fell through (Image: Public)

"It landed on the stairs and carpet near the doorway, but the walls are water-stained and damaged. I also can't close the door from the front room to the kitchen, I think it has warped the door frame." 

A spokesperson for Onward said: “We acknowledge that this has been a distressing situation for Ms Gilligan and apologise that it has taken longer than it should have to resolve. After Ms Gilligan reported a leak in her home on Saturday, we visited her home to make it safe.

"During the visit, we identified that additional parts were needed to carry out the repair and provided temporary heaters in the meantime.

“We visited yesterday, June 4, to fix the boiler and have arranged to complete repairs to the ceiling today.

"We will replace the damaged carpet and check if Ms Gilligan needs any additional support from us. We will also make sure she is satisfied with the outcome of our work.”